With the growth of Gulen schools worldwide. We had requests from around the world to start a second blog on the Gulen Turkish Schools worldwide. From Mexico to Iraq, and Africa to Afghanistan we will post the news stories and as usual amuse you at the same time. To contrast and compare we invite you to http://www.gulencharterschoolsUSA.blogspot.com http://www.charterschoolwatchdog.com http://www.charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com

Gulen Schools Worldwide

Restore the Ottoman Caliphate. Disclaimer: if some videos are down this is the result of Gulen censorship which filed a fake copyright infringement to UTUBE.

Some 2,000 were reported to drop out of school daily in Turkey, according to a recent report. 40 percent of
girls and 25 percent of boys between 15 and 19 are also reported to be neither working nor studying.

Some 2,000 students drop out of Turkey’s secondary schools every day during the educational year, and those who remain enrolled are often failing to learn key skills, a new report has said.

The report, sent to Parliament by the Education Reform Initiative, or ERG, also noted problems with poor training for teachers and a lack of sufficient public spending on education.

Some 360,000 students dropped out of Turkey’s secondary schools in the 2008-2009 school year, while another 295,000 dropped out in the following term, according to ERG, which operates under Istanbul’s Sabancı University. This means an average of 2,000 students drop out each day during the school year.

The report also noted that 40 percent of girls and 25 percent of boys between the ages of 15 and 19 are neither working nor studying.

Dropout rates

More than a third of 15-year-olds in Turkey are not attending school, while 42 percent of juveniles in the same age category are unable to solve basic math problems, according to ERG’s report, which cited figures from the Programme for International Student Assessment, or

PISA, a project of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD.

Turkey’s results on PISA’s 2009 exam are among the worst in OECD countries, with some 25 percent of 15-year-olds also unable to comprehend written texts, and another 30 percent unable to solve science and technology problems they could face in real-life circumstances.

Turkey’s Anatolian high schools have the lowest dropout rates in the country, with around 0.3 percent of students dropping out, while vocational high schools have the highest dropout rates: 11.8 percent for girls and 22.6 percent for boys.

According to the ERG report, Turkey is also among the three OECD countries where students’ success in school is most heavily

affected by their socioeconomic background, including their families’ level of education, income and occupational status.

The rate of access to higher education for the top 20 percent in terms of socioeconomic status stands around 28 percent in Turkey, while the bottom 20 percent have a 0.4 percent rate of access to such institutions, the report said, calling for lawmakers to provide special support for the disadvantaged.

Despite the upswing in recent years, total public spending on

education is still low, according to the report. Some 3.8 percent of public funds in Turkey will be allocated to education in 2013, compared to an OECD average of 6 percent.

Teachers in Turkey are not trained and supported the way they should be, the report also said.

Turks lack knowledge, learn from television’

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News AgencyTuesday, August 2, 2011

The average Turkish family believes it has insufficient knowledge on a number of pertinent issues, yet 65 percent think it is “unnecessary” to attend educational programs that could help them rectify their problems, recent research has revealed.The “Turkish Families’ Educational Needs” survey, which was conducted among 7,000 Turkish families by the Family and Social Policies Ministry, revealed that the average Turkish family believes it does not have enough education on legal issues, sexual health problems, violence and adolescent education.Many also said they had little knowledge on subjects such as children’s television and Internet addiction, children’s educational needs, family communication problems, first aid, inheritance law, pre-nuptial agreements, domestic violence, sexual abuse, the rights of the disabled and drug addiction.

Information from TV instead of school

When asked whether or not they would be eager to attend an educational program that could help them with commonly encountered problems, between 57 and 65 percent of the families surveyed said it was “not necessary” and added that information from TV and newspapers was sufficient to solve their problems.Couples who have been married for more than 16 years are not keen on attending an educational course, the research showed.The minority who reported that they were willing to attend education classes on important problems said they would prefer such courses to be operated by the Education Ministry rather than nongovernmental organizations. Adolescents and the elderly see themselves as the least knowledgeable, the report revealed. Middle-aged people, especially public servants and those working on a freelance basis, said they had more information on the topics in question.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

¶5. (C) Alpman explained the two-pronged approach to Turkish-Kyrgyz relations by supporting education and investment projects. She said that in addition to funding Manas University, the Turkish government supported other education establishments, such as the theological department at Osh State University, a vocational school for girls, and a high school for gifted students. Alpman expressed her concern about the growing prominence of Fetullah Gulen-funded high schools in Kyrgyzstan (she noted that Gulen is a devout Turk who has run afoul of the Turkish government in the past for his intense religious views). Alpman said that these private schools are growing in popularity because most of the instruction is in English but that the ultra-conservative message may have a negative impact on Kyrgyz youth. Alpman added that her government promoted investment opportunities in Kyrgyzstan for Turkish businesses. She said that several Turkish companies successfully operate in the free trade zones near Bishkek, producing items such as building materials and plastic bottles. In the south, Turkish firms have increased exports of Kyrgyz food products in the last few years.

(a.k.a. University of Dakar), strongly objected to their working conditions. Speaking out against a "form of slavery,” these teachers intend to implement several plans of action against their director.

The problems they face are related to their poor working conditions, labor law violations, wages that according to them are meager, and also delays in payment of wages and the exploitation of personnel.

According to the press release they sent us, “a class brings in an average of 12,420,000 francs per month while the teacher sees only 130,000 CFA francs." [Translator’s note: the currency of Senegal is the CFA franc. The exchange rate as of Sep 2011 was around 465 CFA francs = 1 US dollar.]

Speaking out against a form of racism and nepotism, they point out that over a year ago at the elementary school located at Mermoz there was a story of a pedophile and deviant behavior reported in the news.

Launching a bitter attack on the director who they say "reigns like a true dictator," the teachers reveal that he refuses to even shake hands with teachers that he considers atheist because they wear amulets.

Funny and sad at the same time, the complainants attest that "because his daughter received a score of 6/10 in drawing, he flew into a rage, even going so far as to threaten any teacher who dared to give his daughter a failing grade."

Carrying the allegations further, they emphasize that any claim is synonymous with dismissal.

"In the manner of a true dictator, he managed to divide the Turkish and Senegalese staff of the General Director. It's the same poisonous atmosphere that exists at the elementary school in Thies and the kindergarten located in Sud Foire," the accusers assert. [Translator's note; Thies is a city about 25 miles east of Dakar; Sud Foire is about 10 miles west of Dakar, near the international airport.]

These teachers, organized in a union, are planning to boycott the proctoring and grading of entrance tests planned for May 14, and say they want to put in place other plans of action which could go so far as to declare the Director of the Elementary School "persona non grata.”

To get their side of the story, we tried several times to contact a responsible member of the accused group, but there was always no answer to the phone calls.

Fara Michel Dièye

Note: Rewmi is a news portal in Senegal that is mentioned in this list of Senegalese news sources maintained at Stanford University. The original article in French published on the Rewmi website can be read here.

The Teachers Union of the Yavuz Selim School Group (Groupe Scolaire Yavuz Selim), a Turkish school located in Dakar in front of the Cheikh Anta Diop University

Yavus Selim is openly considered a Turkish Islamic school named after a mosque built during the Ottoman era

The Yavuz Selim Mosque, also known as the Selim I Mosque (Turkish: Yavuz Selim Camii) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located top of the 5th Hill of Istanbul, Turkey, overlooking the Golden Horn. Its size and geographic position make it a familiar landmark on the Istanbul skyline.

The star Turkish journalist Ahmet Sik authored a book about the mysterious Fethullah Gulen Movement - and was promptly arrested. In prison, he revealed to FOCUS Online the contents of the book, which is banned in Turkey. FOCUS Online: Mr. Sik, what is the core thesis of your book, which was banned in Turkey? SIK: My contention is as follows: starting from the 1970s, the Turkish police has been infiltrated by the Islamic Gulen Movement. By now, this infiltration has reached a very serious stage: all key police departments are now controlled by the Gulen religious community. FOCUS Online: What does the Gulen Movement stand for, and what does it want to achieve? SIK: For some it is a faith-based community, for others a religious movement that is going to establish an Islamic state in Turkey, for yet others a movement of volunteers. Originally it was only an offshoot of the Nurcu Community. Since the 1980s, they have been very active in the area of education in order to create the leadership circle of Turkey for the new millenium (2000s). They called the young people that emerged from this educational campaign the "Golden Generation". Their calculations paid off: today, in the Turkey of 2011, they have important positions. FOCUS Online: What percentage of the police has been penetrated by Gulenists? SIK: All major departments are under their control: the intelligence service, the department for combating smuggling and organized crime - the infiltration there reaches one hundred percent. Within the units to combat terrorism, the proportion is somewhat lower. The first bastion captured by the Movement was the personnel department, which recruits police officers. The Movement is also very powerful in the police academies. FOCUS Online: Can you describe the ideology of the Gulen movement? SIK: The ideological breeding ground of the movement was the so-called "Turkish-Islamic Synthesis," that was to spread across all of Turkey as a result of the coup of September 12, 1980: it comprises a link between Islam with a nationalism that is crass in every respect. Nothing and nobody can convince me that a religious structure that feeds off military coups could be democratically minded. Of course, everyone should practice their faith as they themselves think best. But if someone starts to anchor this faith in the bureaucracy, it is our right to say no. FOCUS Online: Does the Gulen Movement have ambitions for an Islamic state? SIK: I do not think that the Gulen Community or any other religious movement in Turkey will impose an Islamic state. The Gulen Community may perhaps have fostered such desires in the past. I think however that the Community in the current millennium (2000s) does not intend this, because it has by now created its own quasi-bourgeois class, which distances itself from that idea. The Gulen Movement aspires to a Turkey in which parties that are ideologically close to them - such as the AKP – have the say. Furthermore, they of course want a Turkey in which economic, political and religious opponents of their Community are weaker than they are. And they want a Turkey that, though not governed by Sharia, is, however, more conservative than the present. FOCUS Online: How strong is the Gulen movement in the AKP? SIK: It can be assumed that there is a convergence of interests between the AKP and the Gülen Movement. In other words, supporters of the Gulen Movement mainly vote for the AKP. In order to not lose favor with these constituents, the party grants the Movement the freedom to establish itself in the bureaucracy. The Danger of the Gulen MovementFOCUS Online: Is Prime Minister Erdogan personally connected to the Gulen Movement? SIK: Mr. Erdogan is not a member of the Gulen movement; that is known. It is said that President Gul is closer to the community. However, this is speculation. As long as a person has not stated this themselves, we can say nothing definitive. But I can confirm the following: In the AKP every religious current has a share that is proportional to their strength. FOCUS Online: Is Turkey covertly ruled by the Gulen movement?SIK: It would be reaching too far to say so. One has to speak instead of a coalition between the AKP and the Movement: both maintain a pragmatic relationship based on mutual interests. FOCUS Online: Wherein lies the danger that arises from the Gulen Movement? SIK: A great danger exists in the confrontation of the two major armed forces of Turkey: The army and the police. The army has traditionally defended itself against attempts at Islamist infiltration. Notwithstanding that, the Gulen movement is attempting to gain a foothold there - which so far it has not succeeded in doing to the extent desired. In the police, which are the second strongest power in Turkey, the Gulen Community is arming itself against the army: through a legislative amendment of Jan 1, 2011 the police were granted the right to carry heavy weapons. The question, "What are such intensive preparations for?" remains unanswered. And as I was covering precisely this organizational effort in my book, I was automatically a target. FOCUS Online: In Turkey, your book is banned. Even having a copy of it on one’s hard drive makes one liable to prosecution. Why has there been this overreaction? SIK: I was not surprised by this witch hunt. The Gulen Community already forms one of the main pillars of the Turkish government and does not wish to be criticized. FOCUS Online: How are you treated in prison? SIK: The staff of the prison do not treat me badly. On the contrary, they are attentive and polite towards me. All the same, it is bad enough to be cut off from one’s freedom and loved ones, especially since this happened without any legal basis. I am staying in a triple room. Once a week, I can receive a closed visit of 45 minutes, and once a month an open visit of 75 minutes. Once a week I can make a telephone call for ten minutes. Twice a week I have the provision of warm water. As far as books and newspapers, I experience no significant limitation: in 40 days I read 11 books. FOCUS Online: When do you expect to be released? SIK: I do not expect to be released before the election. The government hopes that by then I fall into oblivion, because the general commotion surrounding my person that would ensue on releasing me would probably cost them votes.

Friday, September 9, 2011

A Tyrolean town has rejected a group of Turkish businesspeople’s appeal to run a school.

A commission formed by Rum Town Hall officials announced yesterday (Tues) it unanimously agreed to veto the endeavour. Turkish investors and retail trade entrepreneurs asked decision-makers whether they could create and manage a private school. The group aimed at setting up an association to finance the project which would have got underway in 2013. However, local political leaders dismissed their bid.

Provincial education authorities welcomed the decision, claiming the foundation of a private school managed by Turks would have been a "wrong approach." The right-wing Freedom Party (FPÖ) agreed, arguing that this would not have been a "good contribution to successful integration." Both the FPÖ and the Tyrolean People’s Party (ÖVP) told Die Presse newspaper that the foundation of a private Turkish secondary modern school – or Gymnasium as the type of school is called in German – could have created "parallel societies."

The provincial branch of the Social Democrats (SPÖ) – who cooperate with the ÖVP on federal political level – were not in favour of the project either. SPÖ official Elisabeth Blanik said speaking to Die Presse that efforts to ensure public schools meet everybody’s demands were needed. The Tyrolean Green Party expressed understanding for the "legitimate" point of view of the town hall of Rum, a small town situated near provincial capital Innsbruck.

Die Presse reports today it is unclear whether the association of Turkish businesspeople behind the project has intentions to appeal the decision. A real estate entrepreneur looking for a property for them to accommodate the planned school in is allegedly not surprised by local politicians’ veto because of "hostile" media coverage as decision day approached.

The Turkish investors wanted Turkish children, kids with a migratory background and Austrian pupils to be taught Turkish either as their mother tongue or as a foreign language. Their project – which would have followed the example of educational institutions in Vienna – came in the middle of heated debate over if and how the Austrian school system has to be reformed.

Businesspeople and experts have deplored the poor level of education and general knowledge of many young people when they leave school while the SPÖ-ÖVP administration is at odds over a reintroduction of tuition fees at universities. The fees were abolished three years ago. Chancellor Werner Faymann’s SPÖ opposes a comeback while the conservative ÖVP is in favour of reintroducing them to help improve the situation at higher education institutions many students and lecturers label as "chaotic."

SPÖ Education Minister Claudia Schmied was forced to put plans to raise the reputation of Turkish as a foreign language to be learned at schools on hold only recently. Schmied aimed at offering children to graduate in the subject in the final year of their school time. Pupils can currently choose between English, French, Italian, Spanish and several other languages. The education minister decided not to take further steps after making her idea public when she realised that the ÖVP – which is headed by Vice Chancellor Michael Spindelegger – strictly opposes it. The federal Green Party backed Schmied’s proposal.

The issue about Turkish as a final exam school subject and news that Rum will not get a private secondary modern school financed by Turkish entrepreneurs comes shortly after new ÖVP State Secretary for Integration, Sebastian Kurz, hit out at FPÖ chairman Heinz-Christian Strache.

Asked by the Kurier newspaper whether he was the ÖVP’s "anti-Strache," Kurz – who was sworn in last April – said: "I don’t define myself with what I am against."

Kurz explained: "Many people can currently identify with Strache. Nevertheless, I have no interest in parroting his words. (...) It would be an easy thing to do to say a few slogans to become more popular and garner extra votes – but this is not my approach."

Spindelegger wants Kurz to come up with fresh suggestions about integration. The discussion among residents of Austria, politicians and sociologists about whether most immigrants are integrated well has intensified in the past few years. Especially the role and standing of Muslims in Austria is under scrutiny as the FPÖ managed to increase their share in a string of various elections ranging from general ballots to provincial votes and city parliament elections with their anti-immigration campaign.

Strache emphasised he had nothing against anyone coming to the country who integrated well. However, his party is infamous for linking crime statistics with the influx of foreigners in a disputed way. FPÖ General Secretary Harald Vilimsky called for a stop of integration from Muslim countries last year.

Kurz suggested the creation of a Forum Islam to debate the key topics there. He also called for a labour market task force helping immigrants to find a job in Austria. The number of immigrants out of work has always been higher than Austrians’ unemployment rate. Kurz also said that the education and training of imams could be discussed in a possible Forum Islam. The state secretary previously made clear imams should preach in German only in Austria.

Kurz is understood of being in favour of keeping a project running in which well-known Austrians with a migratory background visit schools to talk about their careers and daily life in Austria. Athletes, businesspeople and politicians participated in the project which has been welcomed by most education officials.

Monday, September 5, 2011

. Foreign immigration remains the principal growth factor, reflected in the fact that less than half of all residents in the Vancouver area speak English at home. The application process for Canadian documents, including passports and local birth certificates, is fairly well-controlled. Post has not seen cases of fake Canadian permanent resident card, which has similar security features to the U.S. legal permanent resident card. However, local authorities recently acknowledged that counterfeiting is becoming a major problem in the province and post has seen cases of individuals obtaining British Columbia identification cards when they were not entitled to them. ¶4. (U) NIV FRAUD. Vancouver and Calgary detected fraud most notably in the H1B category. ¶5. (U) Although visitor visa (B1/B2) fraud appears less organized and less complicated, there continues to be incidences where applicants try to cover up prior orders of removal or unlawful presence in the U.S. They do so by changing names or other identifying information after leaving the U.S. and entering Canada either as immigrants or asylum claimants. Usually, these applicants have only recently arrived in Canada to seek legal status after residing unlawfully in the U.S. for years. They will also present brand-new passports to hide their previous travel. If IAFIS and IDENT do not catch these applicants, their American regional accent or better-than-average English will reveal that they have been residing in the U.S. for a long time. ¶6. (U) Since Calgary and Vancouver rarely see first-time H1B applicants who are not landed immigrants in Canada, there are usually no concerns about an applicant's skill or experience. That being said, during this reporting period Vancouver witnessed a string of Turkish applicants applying for first-time H1B visas. In most of the cases, their education was from Turkey and the applicants had come to apply in Vancouver directly from the U.S., where they had been most often been studying ESL. While the H1B petitions were for teaching positions at charter schools in the United States, most applicants had no prior teaching experience and the schools were listed as related to Fethullah Gulen. Post was in contact with FPMs in Turkey for guidance in how to proceed with those cases. ¶7. (U) Most H1B fraud in Vancouver occurs when applicants come to renew their H1B visas and the consular officers discover that they are actually doing something other than working for their Petitioner, or they have not been paid what they should and we discover that they are being "benched". Vancouver has seen fewer fraudulent H1B cases in this reporting period. One possible reason for this is that post significantly reduced U.S.-based renewal appointments during the summer because of staffing shortages. Another reason is that Vancouver has been reviewing VANCOUVER 00000261 002.2 OF 004 H1B cases much more closely since last year. By monitoring H1B bulletin boards and chat rooms last year, Vancouver realized that it was being targeted as an "easier" post in which to apply.

American diplomats still use the mantra that Turkey is a model for the Middle East. Alas, increasingly it seems that the Middle East is the model for Turkey. According to Yeni Şafak, Turkey’s Islamist broadsheet, the number of students choosing madrasas over traditional high school grounded in Western and secular coursework has skyrocketed to 240,000.The sharp rise in the number of those seeking a purely Islamist education follows the Turkish government’s watering down of entrance requirements for mainstream universities so that those without a basis in liberal arts could qualify for Turkey’s top schools.Meanwhile, the Turkish government is also scrapping basic regulations on Quran schools. No longer will Turkey set age requirement initially put in place to stop indoctrination of very young children. Nor will Turkey enforce qualification regulations meant to keep out Saudi preachers who could indoctrinate hate rather than theology.Alas, if the path to the future is through children’s education, then Turkey’s future appears less in line with Europe’s, and more with the Gulf Cooperation Counci

A study on Islamophobia in the US, released by the Washington-based Center for American Progress (CAP) on Friday, highlights how a small group of donors fund misinformation experts who promote Islamophobic sentiments and how their misinformation spreads through the media and grassroots organizers like Eagle Forum.

The research was also reported that these misinformation experts are also manufacturing a smear campaign against the Gülen movement, inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, in the US.

According to the research, five experts generated the misinformation and materials used by political leaders, grassroots groups and the media. Those experts are:

Frank Gaffney at the Center for Security Policy

David Yerushalmi at the Society of Americans for National Existence

Daniel Pipes at the Middle East Forum

Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch and Stop Islamization of America

Steven Emerson of the Investigative Project on Terrorism

The research revealed that these misinformation experts have been very influential on Islamophobia groups in 23 states, exemplified by Brigitte Gabriel's ACT! For America, Pam Geller's Stop Islamization of America, David Horowitz's Freedom Center and existing groups, such as the American Family Association and the Eagle Forum.

According to the report, this small network of people is driving national and global debates that have real consequences on the public dialogue and American Muslims.

The research also shed light on the key foundations that endorse these misinformation experts by channeling $42.6 million between 2001 and 2009 to their efforts to spread hate and misinformation.

In the research, these top seven key foundations are listed and ranked according to the amount of founding as follows:

Donors Capital Fund

Richard Mellon Scaife Foundation

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation

Newton and Rochelle Becker Foundation

Russell Berrie Foundation

Anchorage Charitable Fund and William

Fairbrook Foundation.

The Donors Capital Fund, which is listed at the top in the report, contributed $21,318,600 to groups promoting Islamophobia from 2007 to 2009. The research revealed that this money went to the Middle East Forum, Clarion Fund, Investigative Project on Terrorism and the David Horowitz Freedom Center.

One of the significant parts of the research claims that these misinformation experts have served as source for Anders Breivik who shot and killed 77 people in Norway on July 22.

In the research, it was reported that Breivik cited Robert Spencer, one of the anti-Muslim misinformation scholars, and his blog, Jihad Watch, 162 times in his manifesto. Another member of this "network of Islamophobia" in America is David Horowitz and his Freedom Center website. Spencer's frequent collaborator Pamela Geller and her blog, Atlas Shrugs, were also mentioned 12 times by Breivik.

According to former CIA officer and terrorism consultant Marc Sageman as quoted in the report, the writings of these anti-Muslim misinformation experts make up “the infrastructure from which Breivik emerged.”

Now, it is important to make a distinction and say that even though some of these misinformation experts are of Jewish decent, like David Yerushalmi for example, not all Jewish organizations are in the same alarmist line.

For example, the Anti-Defamation League reviewed Yerushalmi's activities and concluded that he has a "record of anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and black bigotry.

The research also pointed out that The Eagle Forum, which is classified within the Islamophobia network, has targeted the Gülen movement, labeling it as a threat of radical Islam, although it actually devotes itself to education, global peace and mutual understanding efforts.

Noting that the Eagle Forum partners with Brigitte Gabriel's ACT! for America and Frank Gaffney's Center for Security Policy to push anti-Muslim issues, particularly anti-Shariah hysteria, the study explained: "At its 2011 Eagle Forum conference in St. Louis, Missouri, for example, Gabriel, Gaffney and others in the network revealed a new supposed threat: Muslim Gülen schools, which they claim would educate children through the lens of Islam and teach them to 'hate Americans'."

"Worse, the speakers alleged that President [Barack] Obama's support for charter school reforms was a back-door strategy for using taxpayer money to fund the schools," it added. "Of course, Gülen schools are nothing of the sort. They are the product of moderate Turkish Muslim educators who want 'a blend of religious faith and largely Western curriculum'," the study, nevertheless, maintained.

Now we should also remember a disappointing article appeared in The New York Times on June 7, by Stephanie Saul titled “Charter Schools Tied to Turkey Grow in Texas,” which attempted to defame Harmony Public Schools in Texas.

The research raises the question of whether the article was a part of these misinformation campaigns or not.

As we remember quite well, the article contained an explicitly anti-immigrant bias and suggested that Harmony, one of the most successful charter school programs in the US, is somehow suspect because its founders were Turkish immigrants. Unfortunately, the impressive success story of Harmony students was barely mentioned in the article.

This New York Times article triggered some other biased articles in The Times Picayune of New Orleans, leading the charter of Abramson Charter School to be revoked. The school was run by the Pelican Foundation, which was established in December 2005 and primarily focuses on math, science and technology. Now, they are trying to start a similar smear campaign against Kenilworth Science and Technology School, which also operates under the Pelican Foundation.

Now, I think it is necessary to clarify here that even though these schools are often called Gülen schools, in fact they are quite different. As a reporter, I interviewed some of the founders of these schools and they claim that they have no affiliation with the Gülen movement, which has devoted itself to global peace and education in all over the world. Is it bad to be affiliated with the Gülen Movement? Most definitely not, but even though some of the founders of these schools migrated from Turkey and were inspired by the teachings of Mr. Gülen, they are American citizens and it's their constitutional right to choose to identify themselves however they want.

Just a few days ago, ten members of the very popular and opponent National Channel (Ulusal Kanal) workers and Aydinlik newspaper staff were put in jail.The Government's police raided Aydinlik and took 10 people into custody. The police officers searched the whole TV building and the press agency and captured many documents and computers..

"The Police based their actions on a recent broadcast about the prime minister's speech."

Because these kinds of operations have been carried on on opponent press agencies, this rationale is not supported by the truth

Those who are under arrest by the AKP government have started a hunger strike. Many of their friends who are not imprisoned have joined them. ,Those who are imprisoned are facing serious health problems because of the bad conditions

The Turkish police raided one Turkish press office and one Turkish TV office. As a result, they arrested 10 people. Other Turkish media will not report this, because they are afraid of a Government clamp down."

Haberinyeri.net reporter USA by Pen Macpherson

Turkish protestor faces off with the Gulen Movement controlled police of Turkey

Although it can turn into an evil instrument in the hand of 'non-believers', the Gülen movement very well knows how to use the internet for their own purpose. The movement currently runs about over a hundred different websites that form the core of their internet activities, in several languages and different approaches aiming at various groups of audiences worldwide. On many of these sites readers are asked to contact and react. It does take a quite a professional and well organized PR-department to keep that all functioning up to date.
Still the movement denies that there is any structure linking all the organisations that supposedly are only 'inspired' by the teachings of their hoca (master). A surprising coincidence for such a number of 'only loosely affiliated' 'groups and individuals' is that their about one hundred core websites are all hosted on one server in Houston, Texas, originally run by a company called The Planet Inc. (theplanet.com) in Dallas, Texas that was recently taken over by Softlayer (softlayer.com).

We have listed the 148 sites here and suggest that you take a look at them yourself. See the very cleaverly developped variety in approaches to the same subject. From more philosphical to heavy-metal (wsatan.com) with content varying from theological theories by the masters hand to pragmatic answers to questions fellow muslim-believers might have about what is allowed and what not in daily life (pearls.org), or another Quran translation (mquran.org), most of it is in English and Turkish. The site fgulen.com is again subdivided into 23 sites offering slightly adjusted content to worldwide audiences in different languages from French and German to Hungarian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean,Russian and more.

The surprising 'immoral' websites that are Fethullah's neighboursThis is how Softlayer describes itself: "Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, SoftLayer delivers world-class, on-demand virtual data center services on a global basis from facilities located in Dallas, TX; Seattle, WA; and Washington, DC. SoftLayer integrates all facets of IT to innovate industry-leading solutions that are fully automated. This empowers customers with complete control, security, scalability, and ease-of-management for their IT environment."
Softlayer.inc advertises itself as the biggest international internetprovider in 'dedicated' hosting, which means companies can have their own private servers there.Softlayer also hosts a very large number of sex-related websites offering 'adult content. A google-search for 'theplanet.com + sex' gives over 700.000 million hits, 'softlayer.com + sex' shows 1500.000 results most of them leading to websites of so-called 'adult content'. Without opening, just from their names you know what they are about. It is obvious that the movement here left its pious muslim standards aside in return for a reliable and technically advanced hosting facility. The value of advanced worldwide digital network access seems to be ranked higher than their own published moral standards.